RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — One of the favorites to win the national championship begins their 2025 NCAA Tournament Friday just a few miles from their home court, and they’ll have their best player back.
The Duke Blue Devils (31-3), the No. 1 seed in the East Region, faces off against No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s Friday afternoon. Tipoff at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh is set for 2:50 p.m.
National player of the year candidate Cooper Flagg will be back for Duke after missing the last two games of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with an ankle injury. But the Blue Devils managed well without Flagg — this year’s ACC Player and Rookie of the Year — defeating rival North Carolina and then Louisville en route to winning the conference championship. Fellow Duke freshman Kon Knueppel won the tournament’s MVP, averaging 21 points across the Blue Devils’ three games.
The Mountaineers won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but then had to win another game to get the chance to play Duke. Mount St. Mary’s defeated American 83-72 in a First Four play-in game in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday night. Both Jedy Cordilia and Dola Adebayo scored 22 points apiece to lead the Mountaineers.
The winner of this game advances to play Baylor, who earlier Friday defeated Mississippi State 72-75. That second round matchup will be Sunday at the Lenovo Center